Curating group shows could, at first pass thought to be an easy task. Collect the best work that you can find from all the participants, and install, this oddly enough, is perhaps not the way to go. It can create an overwhelming experience, a bit like overload, with no resting space. The fact is strong work can easily sit alongside work of a slightly lesser quality. This is precisely what makes an exhibiton work, it allows all the work to breathe, and to visually interact with each other. This approach elevates all the pieces in the show, and gives the audience some work to do, rather than feeling force fed.

Curating and installation requires a visual packaging skillset, how to group, not necessarily images that are just visually similar, but also being about images that are contextually linked. All artworks about journeys, lets say, will be approached by each artist in a very different manner. The skill to connect these images in a space is clearly the curator, they have the experience to be able to pull a show together.

My recent work around migrant labour and migrants has led me to photograph buildings that are being renovated and repurposed. I feel that my current work can be installed anywhere from a white gallery space to an alleyway. The latter alleyway space was my original selection, however due to rising Covid 19 cases my back yard is now the installation area. This is not ideal however I will try to make it work. Slight changes in audience participation may actually take the work in a different direction.

My aim is to involve the audience by asking them to walk along the 60ft print of migrant journeys. This may be recorded and the final work of the remnants be installed at another venue. By having this interaction the audience is a part of the artistic process and hopefully have a sense of excitement and pride in taking part in making a new piece. The original piece will be installed first on the fence, towards the end of the week it will be removed to the floor, and audience participation will start. Rice paper is quite fragile, so I anticipate distruction to be rapid. It may be important to record the participants reactions to being involved.

I have really enjoyed this module, it has stretched me, and given me the confidence to really break boundaries. I feel that these experiments will always be a part of my work going forward.

I cannot believe that today I actually reached the the end of the paper. Exhausted, burnt out, and really feeling a great amount of muscle ache, I cannot look at it any more.  Today has been a meditative approach towards work, and trying to feel a connection between this and the migrants’ hardships. Tomorrow shall be a second pass, to explore what is working, and what needs more work.

De Ferrier, Journeys. 2020 (various details) 11ins x 60ft.

This past week has been busy trying to find spaces for an exhibition. This has been hampered by rapidly rising cases of Covid 19 here in Texas, so I think that I may be reduced to showing this work to a limited audience in my backyard.

De Ferrier, Exhibition alleyway. 2020

Originally my space would have been in an alleyway nearby, but this is no longer an option due to Covid 19 and HOA rules. This was really disappointing.  I am currently working on a 60ft long print, and really needed that space. This print is a work in progress as it is printed by hand and now I need to work on a solution for the lack of space. This along with hurricane season may mean that I will have to cancel, I will not know until nearer the time. I aim to go forward with making my pamphlets to hand out at the exhibition, just in case.

De Ferrier, Journeys. 2020 (hand printed unique state on rice paper) 11″ x  60′

I am keeping up with work in progress ongoing mixed media work, and also made an indesign online gallery of my chosen images.

https://indd.adobe.com/view/7c9b6246-248c-4ee0-a8ce-b9ed42fa6f81

This has been a busy week trying to pull work together. I tend to work in a varied way which can sometimes be difficult to curate. Curating can be very helpful especially with wide-ranging work. It was helpful to meet Cemre this week for my one to one, her suggestions really pushed me forward towards finalizing image choices, and anchoring a short discription of my work.

Variation in my work has the intention of audience engagement. To mitigate this across media way of working I made a portfolio for my website, and a book layout in indesign. The book layout will be printed for my task in the next few weeks. Completing these two things, along with continued work on large works, really helped with selecting some final artworks.

Some time was spent on pushing a printing process on rice paper. The paper is sixty feet long, I do aim to complete the journey, however it may take some time to do. This will definitely be a work in progress. I do like working this way, pushing boundaries and experimenting, so this varied way of working will definitely be a part of continuing work.

De Ferrier, Journeys. 2020 (Photographic transfer on rice paper). 11in x 60ft.

De Ferrier, Journeys (detail). 2020

I really enjoyed this weeks experimentation with cyanotype. I thought that this would be really easy after the huge one that I did the other week.  I was wrong. The only day with no sun in months, so I wasted heaps of fabric, simply messing up the rinsing process, or not exposing correctly. It took the whole day to reach five pieces for my mini series. These were really well received by my tutor, and peers in the webinar, and on the forum, however I’m not sure that these will make the cut for my final work. The process was fun and interesting but I feel that they needed to say more, be pushed more. So for now they may remain in my singles club.

De Ferrier, Crepe Myrtle. 2020

De Ferrier, Ivy. 2020

Going forward, I aim to focus on my canvas, large cyanotype, a transfer method that I want to push, and photographs of silos. The intent here is to have the narrative run throughout these varied mediums.

My studio needed a tidy up. We have moved around the globe to live and work, sometimes it can take years to fully settle, empty all the boxes, settle the kids, just before we have to move again. During the much need clean up, I came across a huge pile of printmaking work that I had done in Australia. Looking at old work with fresh eyes was really interesting it inspired me to make some little tests of print transfers. I think that this can sit alongside other photographic work. I really enjoy working this way, embracing failures along the way.

De Ferrier, Migrant Routes. 2020

De Ferrier, Migrant Routes (detail). 2020

These little prints were really exciting, and fun to do. It felt like this tiny work opened up a floodgate of ideas.

De Ferrier, Migrant Marks (work in progress) 2020

This canvas was made, and stretched with Belgian linen a few weeks ago. As part of the process, I need to let the canvas sit blank, and untouched for a few weeks before I start painting. I need this time to think, plan and get excited about the next step. That day was today.

I wanted to illustrate how beautiful the migrant hand redendering of these massive structures is, taking reference from photographs that I took of the new construction in Houston. A real problem was how to address the scale, hopefully this canvas will address those issues.

De Ferrier, Migrant Marks (detail). 2020

Once the first layer is painted, I leave it to dry and use this time to think about the next layer, and also how to solve any problems. Then returning to build on the first layer. Time consuming process, but can be very rewarding.

De Ferrier, Migrant Marks (work in progress) 2020

De Ferrier, Migrant Marks (detail). 2020

De Ferrier, Migrant Marks (detail). 2020

De Ferrier, Migrant Marks (detail). 2020

Our task for this week was to produce a mini series of five images using a method that we were not familiar with.

I chose to do cyanotype, I have only ever produced one before without any tests. This really was a challenge, especially with the time frame. The task took the whole day, multiple tests later, I managed to get five images that I was happy with. These images are of plants in my garden, they are the type of plants that are cut, pruned and cared for by migrant workers.

De Ferrier, Crepe Myrtle Cyanotype. 2020

De Ferrier, Ivy Cyanotype. 2020

De Ferrier, Papaya Cyanotype. 2020

De Ferrier, Wisteria Cyanotype. 2020

De Ferrier, Rose Cyanotype. 2020